Taco Pasta

Pasta, veggies, and beans in a tomato sauce flavored with taco powder and topped with nutritional yeast. Vegan taco pasta is a tasty and filling meal on the trail.

Ingredients (Serves 2 People):

  • 1-1/4 cups macaroni noodles
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cups dehydrated canned black or kidney beans
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cups dehydrated veggies (suggestions: bell peppers, onions, corn, spicy peppers)
  • 1/3 + 1/4 cups dehydrated tomato sauce (~20 grams)
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1.5 tsp taco seasoning
  • pinch of salt
  • 2.5 cups water to rehydrate

Before the Trail:

Dehydrating:

  • Rinse canned beans and dehydrate at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours).
  • Cut fresh bell peppers into 1/2″ pieces. Cut fresh onions into 1″ square pieces. Precook corn before dehydrating (we used frozen corn). Cut fresh spicy peppers width-wise into thin circles. Use frozen or alternate veggies if desired. Dehydrate veggies separately at 135°F until they are crispy (~8+ hours).
  • We bought jars of marinara sauce, but you could use your own tomato sauce recipe. (Choose a sauce without cheese as the fat can cause it to spoil.) Spread thinly on the fruit-roll sheets that came with your dehydrator, or use parchment paper. Dehydrate at 135°F until it is leathery and dry (~8+ hours) flipping after about 5 hours.

Assembly:

Put tomato sauce and nutritional yeast in separate, small bags. Combine remaining ingredients in a bigger bag along with the small bags. Vacuum seal bag if not eating soon.

On the trail:

Put all ingredients except nutritional yeast into pot with water and cover. Soak for 5 minutes. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Soak for 10 more minutes. Add nutritional yeast before serving. Enjoy!

Tips:

  • Buy noodles that have a cooking time of 7 minutes or less.
  • Fritos are a great topping!
  • Do not vacuum seal bags completely to prevent pointy dehydrated veggies from puncturing the bags. They will also fit better in your resupply boxes, backpack, and bear box if they are still somewhat flexible.

Photos:

Before the trail:

On the trail: